A Princess of Persia: The Story of Ariana
by TomHiddlestonLover10
Summary: Garsiv&OC: Ariana was taken in and Tamina had always considered her as her own flesh and blood. When the Persian Army attacked Alamut and the two Princesses are taken as prisoners, Ariana does all she can to keep a secret that could cost her, her life and her safety. But when Garsiv discovers her secret, can she ever trust him...even possibly love him? COMPLETE! Please R&R!:D
1. Prologue

**Hey readers! So this is my Prince of Persia fanfiction, it's an idea I have had in my head for a while so I decided to put it on here to see what people think! IF you guys like it and review your honest thoughts, I will post a new chapter when I return in a week from my cottage:)**

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**Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time**

**OC and Garsiv**

**PROLOGUE**

What am I? I am a Mutant. I can create anything with my mind, things from daggers and other weapons, to the four base elements, but that is just my ability. If I can imagine it, it can become reality, but only I can control it.

Not everyone however is fond of Mutants. When I was a child there were people who despised Mutants, thought we were creatures of the Devil, and that we shouldn't exist. Some were afraid, some were brave enough to capture and kill us.

To this day there are still people who are afraid of us. I was captured when I was a child, but they did not kill me. They burned markings all over my body and filled the wounds with a permanent and magical black ink that stays inside of your body forever, it never disappears.

They left my face and neck untouched, but the rest of my body is covered in black markings, now if anyone saw me like this they would know what I am. I created a bracelet that I wear everyday that makes the markings invisible while it is on my wrist.

The princess of Alamut took me in as her sister, when she found me alone in Mister Amir's burnt down house, my parents in hiding. She didn't care what I was; she took me into her home and protected me. I always knew she wasn't my real family, but I will always think of her as my sister. I am her guardian. A warrior Princess. I protected her from the dangers of those outside of Alamut.

When the Persian Army invaded Alamut, I never expected to fall in love with one of the Princes.

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**Hey there readers:) What did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? PLease be honest and put your thoughts into a review for me!**


	2. Attack on Alamut

**Hey readers! So here is the first chapter! **

**I'm going away for a week so I will update when I get back:) **

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter One**

As I pulled my long, dark hair over my shoulder, there was a knock on the door. I grabbed a thin ribbon and quickly tied my hair just behind my neck and walked over to the door. Standing in the door frame stood one of the palace guards.

"Princess," he said bowing his head.

"Princess Tamina wishes to see you immediately."

My eyebrows knotted together in confusion.

"Princess, Alamut is under attack."

"By who?" I asked, worry growing inside of me.

"The Persian army. Your sister is waiting for you at the High Temple." I nodded as he led me out of my chambers, towards where my sister was waiting for me.

I ran up the stairs towards the doors that opened to the Temple and pulled them open. Tamina stood in the middle of the room.

"Sister." I said walking up to her.

"Ariana, I must ask something of you." she said taking my hands.

"Anything." I replied.

"The Persian army is attacking Alamut, and I must pray. I ask that you stand guard in case they breach the palace. I cannot be interrupted." I nodded my head in reply and pulled my hood up so that it covered my face.

I walked over to the door and hid behind a column that blocked me from view. Tamina knelt down on the steps and bent over, spreading her arms out over the floor. Outside I heard noises of objects crashing to the ground and of people getting slaughtered.

It took only a matter of a few minutes before the doors crashed open. Persian soldiers led by two men, who I assumed to be Princes, flooded the room, killing the guards who tried to stop them. I kept my ground, and stayed behind the pillar, keeping an eye out to make sure they didn't hurt my sister.

I fabricated a bow and pack full of arrows. A man stepped out of the crowd and walked around Tamina, walking up onto the platform as he purposely knocked over a table. The man bent over Tamina, speaking as he did so.

"Silly songs and scented smoke will do little for you now!"

Tamina grabbed a dagger that lay beside her and attempted to put it to his throat before being stopped by an older man.

"I think you'll find there's more to her than that, eh, Garsiv?" said the older man as he turned my sister around to face the second man that was leading the soldiers.

I took a step forward, but when I locked eyes with Tamina, she gave me a look that told me to stay put. The second man, I knew to be, Prince Tus, drew his sword and pointed it at her face and then lowered her hood.

"So, for once the stories are true." said Tus and his men agreed.

"We know you secretly build weapons for enemies of Persia. Now show us where." said the older man.

Tamina turned around to face him. "We have no forges here. What weapons we had, you overcame."

"Our spies say differently." said Prince Garsiv. "You can save a lot of pain-"

Tamina interrupted him, saying, "All the pain in the world will not help you find something that does not exist."

"Spoken like one wise enough to consider a political solution." said Prince Tus.

My sister turned back around to face him. "Join hands with Persia's future king." Tus offered his hand towards my sister.

"I'll die first." said Tamina, refusing him. The soldiers that surrounded them called out mockingly, but the Prince just chuckled and lowered his hand. "That can be arranged."

"Don't touch her!" I exclaimed as I pushed through the crowd.

I raised my bow and pointed it at Tus. The Prince looked over at one of his men. The soldier grabbed my wrist and forced me to lower my arms, causing me to drop my weapons.

Tus walked over to me and lowered my hood. I held my head high, showing no fear.

"Who might you be?" the Prince asked.

"Her sister... and her guardian." The soldiers laughed when I said 'Guardian'. "'Sister?' Well, isn't this our lucky day, eh, brother? Two beautiful princesses, one for me and one for Garsiv."

I looked up at his brother and curled my hands into fists. The Prince looked at me, he showed no emotion, but kept a straight face.

"Take them, we're done here. Garsiv, pick up her weapons." I watched nervously as Garsiv bent over to pick up my bow and arrows. He stood back up with my weapons in hand and walked out of the room, behind his brother.

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**So that is chapter one:) What did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest and put your thoughts into a review for me!**


	3. Prince Garsiv

**Hey readers! I'm back from my week long vacation! :D ahah. Here is the second chapter! Enjoy:D**

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**Chapter Two**

Tamina and I were then dragged out by the Persian soldiers.

"You should have stayed put." whispered Tamina.

"And let them kill you? Not likely." I whispered back.

All she did was scoff and then stop talking. We were led by Prince Tus and his younger brother, Prince Dastan and the rest of their army towards Nasaf, while Prince Garsiv rode behind us to make sure we didn't run off.

We walked on for hours and soon enough my feet were getting sore. I had the distinct feeling that I was being watched when we were about half way there. I turned my head and looked over my shoulder briefly and saw Prince Garsiv staring at me intently.

"Watch where you're going, Ariana!" said Tamina.

I snapped my head forward and then turned to look at my sister.

"Sorry." I said. After another hour or so, we finally reached the gates that opened to the Palace of Nasaf.

We were led inside the palace and and guided into our own separate bed chambers. When I arrived at my own chambers, the palace guard that was leading me, opened the doors and practically threw me inside.

"Prince Garsiv wishes to speak with you soon, make yourself decent." he said before closing the doors.

Sighing deeply, I walked over to the window and sat down on the seat that was placed uderneath it. In the far distance, smoke could be seen that was billowing from the remains of Alamut, my home. A few moments later there was a loud knocking on my door.

"Come in." I called.

The door squeaked open and then closed, and I heard footsteps approach.

"Your city was very beautiful, I have to admit." came the voice of Prince Garsiv.

"_Was._ Until you and your men burnt it down to nothing but ash." I said. Scoffing, the Prince sat down next to me.

"We were under orders." he said.

"That doesn't mean that you didn't _want_ to attack my city." I stated looking over at him.

"Your people have been making weapons for our enemies. We only did what we did to ensure that you are loyal to us, and not to them." I raised an eyebrow as I stared at him with disbelief.

"There are no forges in Alamut. We have no way of being able to sell weapons to any of your enemies. Tamina was right about you Persians, you really are ignorant." I said as I turned to look out at the city below.

"Ignorant? Well that's new. Despite what you or your sister believes, we are not all bad. We just do what we must to protect ourselves and our people." said Garsiv defensively.

"'Not all bad'?" I asked scoffing. "You destroyed my home, burnt it down to find something that does not exist. Does that make you feel proud of yourself?" I turned my head and looked into the Prince's slightly shocked expression.

"For a young woman, you are certainly outspoken." he said.

"I-" I began, but our conversation was then interupted by a knock at the door. "Excuse me." I said standing up and walking to the door. I grabbed the handle and opened the door.

"Tamina!" I said excitedly. "Ariana." she said as she wrapped her arms around me.

"I came to see that you were alright, but I see that you're busy." she said releasing me. I turned around to see Garsiv, now standing and staring at the two of us.

"Yes, we were just talking." I said smiling at Tamina.

"I'll leave you be then, I just wanted to check on you. Besides, there are some things I need to prepare for." she said hugging me once more, before leaving.

"I expect you to be at dinner this evening, _Ariana_. If you don't come down, I'll come up here and drag you out myself." he said before walking out.

I closed the door behind him and went to the only closet that was in the room.

I didn't know what I expected to find in there, given the fact that all my clothes were probably burnt down in Alamut, but when I opened it I found numerous gowns hanging inside of it.

Closing my eyes, I pulled out a gown at random and changed out of my old clothes into the new ones and to my surprise they fit perfectly, a little snug in some places, but were none the less, comfortable.

I walked over to the mirror to examine myself. The dress I wore was a soft cream colour with a red sash wrapped around the middle and along the neck line and the sleeves were small golden beads. I untied the ribbon from my hair, rebrushed it and pulled it back again. I never let anyone see my hair out, except for Tamina.

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**So that is chapter two:) What did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest and put your thoughts into a review for me! If I get enough reviews, I'll post a new chapter;)**


	4. Daggers and Archery

**Hey guys, so here is the third chapter! Please don't forget to review after you read:) **

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Three**

When I finished with my hair, I left my chambers and went to find Tamina. Along the way I had to ask one of the guards to lead me to her room. He led me straight to Tamina's chambers and knocked on the door for me before leaving. The doors slowly opened and Tamina's face came into view.

I smiled at her and said, "Tamina, are you ready?"

"For what?" she asked. Rolling my eyes, I replied, "For dinner. Garsiv wanted me to be there, but I don't want to go down alone."

Tamina scoffed at me and stepped out of her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"I am ready, but I didn't really want to go." she said as we started walking.

"I was thinking about not going, but the Prince said he would send someone up to get me anyways, so why cause him trouble?" I said.

"Hm." was all Tamina replied with.

"So do you like him?" she asked after a few minutes.

"I have to admit he is rather handsome, but what I like about him is his ability to be a stuck up Prince while being a kind gentleman at the same time." I said laughing slightly.

We walked around the palace for a while longer before we found the dining chamber. The three Princes were already seated around a long dining table, all conversing with each other. I looked at Tamina and she gave me a look that told me to relax.

Dinner seemed to pass quickly. Tamina and I ate quietly while the princes conversed and I caught Prince Garsiv staring at me more than once. When dinner ended, Tamina and I made our way back to our chambers after biding the princes goodnight.

"Did you see Prince Dastan?" asked Tamina.

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"The youngest."

"Oh, yes. Why do ask?" I asked.

"He has the dagger." she said quietly.

I snapped my head up and looked at her.

"You're sure?" I asked stopping her in her tracks.

"Yes, I'm certain of it. I saw it on his belt as he walked in, when they invaded the Temple." she replied.

"Does he know how to use it?"

"Of course not. He probably thinks it's just an ordinary dagger." she said as we continued walking.

"We have to find a way to get it back from him." she continued.

"How?" I asked. "I don't know yet." After that we went our to our seperate rooms.

That night I couldn't sleep. There were too many thoughts swimming around in my mind. To take my mind off of, well, everything, I sat on the seat underneath the window and stared at the stars.

I missed Alamut, even though it wasn't my birth home it was still the one place I felt safe, aside from the village I grew up in. I often wondered if I would ever return, but recent events forced me to believe that returning wasn't an option. Perhaps I would go one day, just to visit to see my family again, at least what's left of them.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt out of sorts. Sleeping in a different bed, worried that I might wake up dead the next day, caused me to toss and turn for most of the night.

I sat up and pushed the sheets aside and jumped down off of the mattress.

I changed out of the night shift and into a pair of black cotton pants, a black tunic, that I tightened by wrapping a midnight blue sash around my waist. I pulled on a pair of black leather slippers and and then untied my hair, brushed it out, and tied it back once more.

The sun still hadn't fully risen, and there was almost no one up and about, so I decided to head outside to the training grounds to practise my knife throwing and archery.

It took me a few minutes to reach the training grounds, and once there I stopped and took a long deep breath, allowing the warm air to wake me up. The sun was slowly coming up in the distance.

I continued on farther into the training arena and created a few different types of targets that I could practise on. I set up stacks of empty drinking vases, and apples set up on hay stacks.

I flexed my hands, and my fingers and grasped the leather handle of the small dagger in my right hand. I spread my feet, shoulder length apart and pointed the blade out in front of me, staring straight ahead at the pyramid of apples set up on a stack of hay.

Breathing deeply, I focused on the apple at the very top of the stack, brought my arm back, and in one fluid movement threw the dagger out in front of me. I watched as it whizzed past all of the other targets and stuck itself into the top apple of the pyramid and knocked over all the rest of the red skinned fruit.

While the apples tumbled to the ground, I quickly fabricated two daggers, one in each hand and threw them out to my left and right side at the targets I had set up.

I continued on throwing knifes at each and every one of the different targets set up around the training grounds. It wasn't until I had taken down the last of the drinking vases and apples, that I had set up archery targets.

By then the sun had almost fully set, and there were a few people milling around outside, none were paying much attention to me, but I was still getting the feeling that I was being watched.

I raised my bow, and arrow at the hay filled human dummy that I had hung up and aimed it to the centre of the head. Just as I was about to loose the arrow, a voice spoke up from behind me.

"I should recruit you into the army." I turned in surprise, just as I released the arrow, which just barely missed one of the guards' heads.

Garsiv stood leaning against a pillar, holding up the balcony to my room, smiling.

"I could have killed him!" I said incredulously.

The Prince shrugged and walked over to me. "We have plenty of men, we could have just as easily replaced him."

Shaking my head, I took out another arrow and pointed the bow at the head once more. I glanced sideways at Garsiv, to make sure he wasn't about to distract me again, then loosed the arrow. I lowered the wooden bow as my arrow hit the very centre of the hay head.

I smiled at my success, and turned to find Garsiv staring at the hay made dummy, with an impressed look on his face.

"What? Jealous?" I asked teasing him.

"No, I'm sure I could do just as well." he said facing me. He held out his hand towards me, demanding the bow. I hesitantly handed it over to him, as well as my pack of arrows.

Garsiv strapped the sheath of arrows across his back and observed the bow in his hand. As I watched him, I mentally slapped myself for not being more careful. I had forgotten that the bow had markings that resembled the ones all over my body, mutant markings. I swallowed hard, and prayed that he would not notice.

"Did you make this bow?" he asked not looking up at me.

"Ye-yes. I did. Why?" I replied nervously.

"No reason." he said.

He gripped the bow with his left hand and picked an arrow from the pack, with his right. The Prince focused on his target as he postioned his arms pointing the bow out in front of him, before releasing the arrow. It whizzed past targets, and sword racks, and hit the dummy's hand.

Unable to resist, i doubled over and started laughing uncontrolably.

"What?" he asked a hint of anger in his voice. I straightened myself out and still laughing, turned to find him glaring at me.

"Sorry." I said, still chuckling.

"It wasn't that bad. Maybe I was aiming for the hand." he said looking back at the spot where his arrow had stuck.

"I doubt that." I said walking towards the dummy so that I could retrieve my arrows.

"Now thanks to you, I have to go and search for my other arrow." I said grumpily, as I pulled out the two arrows from the hay.

I turned to the Prince, and held out my hand for my pack of arrows and my bow.

"I'd love to help you but I have things I need to do." he said placing the bow in my outstretched hand.

I dropped the arrows into the sheath and hung it over my back. "What sort of things?" I asked curiously.

"My father is arriving at the end of the week, I have things to prepare for his arrival." he explained, walking away.

"I expect you to be at dinner again tonight." he called before entering the palace. Sighing, and shaking my head, I started to wander around searching for my lost arrow.

I found it hidden in one of the bushes lining the grounds, but even after I found it, i didn't go back inside.

I ended up exploring most of the palace grounds for most of the day, trying to memorize where good shooting areas were, and good places where I could hide incase of need.

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	5. An Interesting Dinner Conversation

**Hey readers! A quick note: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU HAVE READ THIS, EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT! PLEASE, PLEASE! THANK YOU!**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Four**

When I realized that the sun was beginning to set, I slowly headed inside for dinner. I made sure to change before entering the dining hall, I didn't want to give the impression of being a slob, especially since I was expected to be a well brought up princess.

I changed into robes of midnight blue, silver coloured slippers, and a matching sash that I had wrapped around my waist. My hair was left in it's usual style, tied back.

That evening I went down to the dining hall on my own, unable to find Tamina anywhere before making my down. I assumed she was already down there, waiting with the Persian Princes.

When I arrived at the doors, the guard bowed and pulled them open revealing the large dining room.

There sat, Tus, Garsiv and Dastan, spread around the table, conversing amongst themselves. Tamina, was no where to be seen. I slowly made my way to the table, taking small steps, and feeling very nervous without my sister with me.

Garsiv was the first to notice my approach and he smirked when I gave a short bow to the men sitting before me.

"Good of you to join us this evening." said Prince Tus following his brothers' gaze towards me.

He gestured to the empty cushion on his left, which also happened to be on the opposite side of the table where Prince Garsiv sat.

"Have you seen my sister?" I asked settling onto the embroidered seat. Tus raised an eyebrow at my direct question.

"Your Highness." I added. Tus nodded, and placed his hands on the table.

"No, I have not. In fact I was hoping you would be able to give me that information."

"I haven't seen her all day." I replied looking around the highly decorated room. Tus gave me a look once more, at the fact I had not adressed him properly.

"You will do well to know that I expect you to adress me properly, Princess or not. I am the future King of Persia, and you will address me as such."

"Hmm. Then, _Your Highness_, you will do well to know that I will always speak my mind, and speak as I wish. Just because you are an ignorant, self absorbed brat, doesn't mean I have to make any exceptions." I said staring straight into the Princes' glaring eyes.

There was a slight tension between the four of us now, but Dastan suddenly began to snicker.

He reached his hand across the table and gripped my wrist, saying, "Well, I must thank you. No one has ever insulted my brother without losing their heads."

I glanced over at Garsiv, who was trying hard to conceal his laughter, and then over to Dastan who had now burst into a fit of laughter. I allowed myself to smile and laugh along with the young Prince, as Tus began to turn red with embarassment.

A few minutes later dinner was served. I waited for the Princes to take their helpings before taking some food for myself. Tus remained silent throughout dinner, still seeming slightly flustered and annoyed at being laughed at.

Throughout dinner Dastan continuously pestered me with questions about my life. Unable to tell him the truth about myself, I had to lie most of the time.

"You know for sisters, you don't look anything alike." Dastan pointed out near the end of dinner.

"Well we're not twins." I said lowering my head.

"I know, but you don't resemble her at all. I mean she has brown, almost black eyes, black hair and tanned skin. But you...you look nothing like a traditional Persian." he said staring at me.

I glanced up at him, and when I looked over at Garsiv I caught his eye and there was a look in his dark eyes that made me worried. He looked like he was putting something together. I knew he was thinking of the bow, the markings engraved on it, and the facts that Dastan was pointing out.

"I mean you on the other hand, have dark blue eyes, brown hair, and fairly light skin. Are you sure you're even from Alamut?" he asked jokingly.

It was then that both his brothers looked up at me, giving me questioning looks. I cleared my throat and stood up. I gave a small bow to each of them before saying,

"Thank you for your company, but I think I'll go to bed now." With that said I spun around and left the dining hall.

I was barely a few feet away from the hall when I heard the doors open and close again, and footsteps started to approach me.

"Ariana." came Garsiv's voice. I stopped in my tracks but didn't turn around, instead I waited for him to catch up with me.

"You're not here to point out more obvious features about me are you?" I asked as we started to walk towards my room.

"No, but my brother is right. You don't look anything like your sister." he said.

"When did you figure that out?" I asked sarcastically. Beside me, the young Prince sighed.

"I'm not here to compare you to your sister. I see no reason to." he said.

I didn't respond to his words, I just continued walking in silence. When we reached the doors to my chambers, I reached my hand towards the doorknob, but stopped when Garsiv's hand wrapped around my wrist, quite firmly.

"Meet me at my chambers tomorrow morning after the morning meal, I want to show you something." he said releasing my arm.

Taking in a deep breath, I nodded. I was a little reluctant to agree to what he was asking, but being more of his captive than his guest, I felt compelled to do what he asked.

"Good night, Princess." he said before turning and walking away.

"Good night...Garsiv." I whispered.

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**What did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest and put your thoughts into a review for me! **


	6. Dreams of the Past

**Hey readers! Here is another chapter! Hope you like it! And please don't forget to review:)**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Five**

Sighing, I pushed the doors open and entered my bedroom. I stripped off my clothes and grabbed my night shift off of my bed, and pulled it on. Sitting down on the bed, I fiddled with the silver bracelet on my wrist and pulled it off.

Instantly, the familiar black markings appeared all over my arms, legs, and hands and feet.

They were the same markings that appeared everytime I created something with my mind. I placed the bracelet next to me on the bed and held my arms out in front of me.

If Prince Garsiv had recognized the markings on my bow as mutant markings, he would know what I was, and that scared me more than anything.

If he figured out what I was, he would most likely kill me on the spot the next time he saw me. He had a lot of pieces to put together to figure it all out, no thanks to his brother, Dastan who _had _to point out how different I was compared to Tamina.

I feared that he had already figured it out, and that was why he was inviting me to his chambers tomorrow.

I reached beside me, picked up my bracelet and slid it back onto my wrist making the marks disappear. Standing up, I pulled the sheets back and slipped between them, laying my head back on the pillows. Sleep overcame me almost immediatly, the nightmares following just as quickly.

_Smoke. That's all I could see and the screams of other villagers, and battle cries of the Persian army were all I could hear. Mother stood in front of me, protecting me from anything that might come through the door. _

_Father was outside fighting with the rest of the men of the village. I couldn't escape the feeling that this was all my fault. I knew it was me that they were searching for, the one mutant in the entire village, the one mutant that the king had sent his army to kill. _

_"Ariana, darling, I want you to stay here, alright?" mother said forcing me to sit down, hiding underneath the table. I_

_ nodded, and she smiled, little did I know that that was the last time I would ever see her smile again. I watched as she left the house to go and find father, and as I sat there, alone with no one to protect me, except myself, I felt truly afraid._

_"Check inside!" called a voice from outside. I heard footsteps approach the house, and then with a loud_

BANG!_ the door fell off it's hinges. At least a dozen men entered my home and began to tear apart the house my father had built for my mother and I. I closed my eyes tightly trying to pretend that this was just a dream, that none of this was actually happening. _

_"Found her!" called one soldier. I_

_ opened my eyes and saw that the table had been knocked over and the twelve men that had entered the premises stood around me, swords pointed in my direction. I stared at them all, eyes wide with fear. _

_"Kill her then!" shouted the man, who was clearly in charge. _

_"But sir, she's so young." said a soldier to my right. _

_I looked up at the man, who gave me a sypathetic look. _

_"Not having second thoughts are you? You know we have strict orders to kill her on sight." said the commander._

_"I understand, sir, but she's barely ten years of age, she couldn't harm anyone." _

_The commander sighed and seemed reluctant to disobey his direct orders, but he turned to the man who was trying to convince him not to kill me, and said, "Take her. Bring her to Mister Amir, he'll deal with her." _

_The soldier nodded and walked over to me, lifting me into his arms. I didn't resist, I didn't want to cause anymore trouble than I already had just by being alive._

_"Why are we taking to her to Amir?" asked the young man who carried me. _

_"You know why. We'll mark her, then when she's old enough we'll find her again, and kill her." the commander answered. _

_'Mark me?' what did he mean 'mark me'?_

_As we walked out of my house I looked around. There were bodies sprawled on the ground, bloody and broken. Most of the village was still intact even after the attack, but there were a few houses completely burnt down. _

_We walked on for a few hours before stopping at a wooden hut. "Wait here." ordered the commander. The rest of the army nodded and retreated away from the house, but the soldier carrying me followed his leader into the hut. He layed me down onto a wooden table and began to strap my arms and legs down using pieces of leather attached to the table._

_I looked up at him with fear in my eyes, and he looked down at me with a sad look in his own brown eyes. _

_"It's going to be alright. Please, don't fight it." he said placing his hand on my shoulder._

_ A man entered then, a man I had never seen before and in one hand he carried a piece of metal, that glowed orange all but where his hand was wrapped around it. _

_In his other hand he carried a large jar filled with a strange black liquid. The man I presumed was Mister Amir, walked over to me and whispered, "Relax young one, the pain will subside soon."_

_Before I knew it he ripped my clothes and plunged the heated metal into my skin and began to drag it all over my body, creating swirls and ancient characters that made words like, "Devil", "Mutant" and "Abomination"._

_ Each time he dragged the hot metal across my skin I let out ear piercing screams. The men in the room ignored me, except for the one who carried me here. Amir continued to burn me, and mark me for what seemed like hours, and once he had finished with the burning, he opened the jar full of black liquid and began to poor it into the wounds. _

_It didn't hurt, in fact it helped the pain but as i watched, the liquid instantly began to fill in the burns, making them turn black and become apart of my skin._

_"Forever a monster." said Amir when he had finished._

"NO!" I sat straight up in my bed, moving quickly to get the sheets off my sweaty body. I took long deep breaths trying to calm myself down.

It wasn't until I was fully calm, that I realized the loud knocking on my door.

"Coming!" I called.

I quickly pushed back the covers and as I jumped out of bed, I grabbed my robe and pulled it over my short, night shift. Grabbing the handle, I pulled the door open and saw Tamina standing in the doorway.

"Tamina! What are you doing here?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"I was walking around and I heard you screaming. May I come in?" she asked looking around making sure no one was around.

"Yes, of course." I said standing aside and allowing her to step inside. I closed the door behind her and followed her as she walked over to the bench placed under the window. It was very bright outside, something I hadn't realized until now.

"Ariana, what happened?" my sister asked, taking my hand in hers.

"It's nothing." I lied.

"Ariana, please, don't lie to me. I know something is wrong. What is it?" she insisted.

"I had another nightmare. Of the day the Persian army came to my village and marked me." I explained, as the nightmare flashed through my mind.

"I've always wondered if I'd ever return, to see if I could find my parents, but now that I'm here, I doubt leaving would be an option." I said sadly.

"I'm sorry, sister. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do. Unless of course you go in secret, or ask someone to accompany you." she suggested.

Scoffing, and looking out of the window I replied, "Then they'd know what I am, and most likely kill me."

"Come on. Get dressed, and we'll go down to breakfast together. Perhaps we can go for a walk later." she said helping me stand up.

She led me over to the closet and started to rummage through the clothes before handing me a long red, silk tunic and a matching pair of trousers, as well as a long piece of gold silk, presumably a sash.

I quickly grabbed the clothes and changed out of my night shift. Once I was properly dressed Tamina and I left my chambers and headed down for breakfast.

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**What did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest and put your thoughts into a review for me! **


	7. Secrets and Feelings Discovered

**Chapter Six**

The only other people already downstairs, were Garsiv and Dastan. I didn't bother to ask where Tus was, seeing as I really didn't care.

I didn't eat very much that morning, I felt that I had lost most of my appetite after my nightmare from last night.

"Not hungry, Princess?" Dastan asked.

Without saying anything, I shook my head. I looked up at Tamina and saw her staring angrily at her plate.

"Ariana." said Garsiv. I snapped my head up and looked at him, finding him staring at me, observing me.

"Shall we go?" he asked.

Blinking at him in surprise, I said, "Yes. Of course." As I stood, Tamina grabbed my arm and I gave her a look, telling her I'd talk to her later.

Together, Garsiv and I left the dining room, and made our way to his chambers. When we arrived and entered his room, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was.

It was a very spacious room and as soon as I looked straight ahead there were two large window doors on both the left and the right side of the wall. Beyond the two doors, was a balcony, overlooking Nasaf. It was very beautiful.

To the left of the windows was a large bed. Big enough to fit four people at least.

On top of the bed was a black silk bedspread with a fur blanket laying on top of it. The pillows were made of the same black silk, but a few of them were made of a deep blue coloured silk. The walls of his room were decorated with multiple paintings, and royal hangings, all representing either royalty, or the Persian Army.

To the right of the bed was a small bedside table that held a simple candle, and a leather bound book. To the left of the bed stood a tall, wood shelf with many of the books that I doubted the Prince ever read, seeing as most of them looked brand new. Next to the shelf was a tall, wide wooden closet and beside the closet was a sword rack.

"You keep your swords in here?" I asked curiously, walking over the rack, observing the beautiful weapons.

"Of course. They're my prized possessions." he said walking over and stopping beside me.

"They're beautiful. But, this one...is very strange." I said pointing at one sword that was placed at the top of the rack.

The hilt was made of gold, and inlaid with stitches of black silk and the blade was folded in a fashion I did not recognize.

"That was made especially for someone, just finished yesterday." Garsiv said picking it up. He faced me and held it out to me, like he was giving it to me.

"Take it." he said. I looked at him like he was crazy, but all he did was shake his head and smile. "It is a gift to you Princess."

I bit my lower lip nervously as I carefully took the sword from his hands. I held the weapon in my hands, testing it's balance. Perfect.

"It has perfect balance. And it's...light. For a sword."

Garsiv nodded. "After seeing your abilities yesterday, I decided that I would give this to you as a gift. Something for you to remember us by." he said chuckling.

I grasped the hilt of the sword and pointed it out in front of me at the Prince, who quickly backed out of the way. It felt very light-weight in my hand, and it was easily moneuverable.

"Do you like it?" he asked, as he picked up another sword. I smiled up at him and nodded.

"Yes, thank you. Your Highness." I said bowing slightly.

"However I doubt it could even compare to the weapons you make yourself." he said eyeing me. Slowly straightening out of my bow I looked at him, eyes wide.

"How-what?" I asked my nerves getting the better of me. He knew.

"I know what you are Elena." he said walking right up to me and staring into my eyes.

"How? How could you know?"

"I've pieced it together. The markings on your bow, and the difference between you and the rest of us. You're a mutant." he stated.

Shaking my head, I slowly backed away from him, pointing the sword out in front of me.

"I'm not going to kill you, Ariana." he said advancing on me. This made me knot my eyebrows in confusion.

"Why? Why wouldn't you? Surely you've heard stories about us, and I'm more than certain that your father has told you that we are nothing but abominations, creatures of the Devil that must be destroyed."

The young Prince shook his head. "That is true, I have heard stories, but I don't believe any of them."

"Then what do you believe?" I asked still backing away. "I merely believe that you are a more evolved human being, gifted with remarkable abilities. Elena, I do not believe that, you especially, are a dangerous person, unless you choose to be, but I've seen you, watched you. You're a good person." he said smiling at me.

A wave of relief washed over me after hearing his words, but I still didn't feel like I could trust him. I lifted the sword and pointed it at the man standing in front me, and he did the same, pointing his own weapon at me.

I brought my sword up over my head and brought it down. Garsiv quickly stepped out of the way and swung his own sword to block my attack. I took a battle stance and glared at the man standing before me. Garsiv raised an eyebrow and stared at me, confusion written all over his face.

He parried my blade as I stabbed it towards him at the speed of a fairly skilled swordswoman, however due to his height and strength, I lost my footing for a moment and fell open trying to regain balance.

The Prince took this opportunity as a chance to jab his sword towards me. I feinted to my left, avoiding his blade. For a few minutes our swords clashed together as we fought, and sparks flew each time we evaded each other's swords. I noted his footwork, which was far better than my own, but he had had more practice and experience than I did.

Breathing hard, we came to a moment of stillness with our blades, as we stared hard at each other, our blades resting hard against the other. I groaned as he leaned forward and pushed his weight against his sword, causing me to buckle beneath him.

As I released my sword, and turned slightly, his sword slashed my arm, causing me to yelp in pain. I fell to my knees and grasped my arm, trying to stop the bleeding. Garsiv dropped his sword and knelt down next to me.

"Are you alright?" he asked grabbing my arm.

"I'm fine. It's just a scratch." I replied, wincing as he removed my hand and began to examine the wound.

"It's more than just a scratch Princess. Let me look at it." he said. He grabbed the hem of the sleeve and pulled, ripping it off.

I watched him carefully as he tore the sleeve into strips and began to wipe off the excess blood. His hands felt rough against my skin, but for some strange reason, I liked it.

Picking up one of the strips of silk, he lifted my arm and began to wrap it around the wound. I looked at his face while he focused on wrapping my arm, and there was something about him, that intrigued me, that pulled me to him.

I get this feeling inside of me, I realize that now, everytime I look at him. I feel nervous and excited at the same time. I didn't know why I felt like this, or why I just realized it, but I felt as though, maybe just maybe, I was starting to fall for the Prince even after only a few days.

When I winced slightly as he tied up the material, he glanced up at me. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" he asked removing his hand and placing it on his thigh.

I shook my head, and placed my hand on top of his, taking him a little by surprise.

"Your Highness-"

"Garsiv." he said cutting me off. "Garsiv...Thank you." I said looking into his eyes now.

"For what?"

"For the sword, for this-" I said gesturing to my arm. "And for not killing me." I said smirking. Garsiv let out a low chuckle as I said this. His smile gave me butterflies.

"You're welcome." he said as he stood up. He held his hand out towards me, which I took as he pulled me into a standing position.

"I have to meet my sister." I said staring down at my feet.

"Come, we'll walk and find her." he said walking to his bedroom door, and holding it open for me. I bent down, picked up my new sword and left his room, Garsiv following closely behind me.

"Does Tamina know?" he asked walking beside me now.

"Of course, and luckily for me she doesn't care either." I replied. We walked on in silence now, until we reached the palace gardens.

I spotted Tamina sitting on one of the stone benches, looking out at nothing in particular.

"I'll see you later then." said Garsiv before turning around and walking back to the palace. I walked over to my sister and sat down next to her.

"What took you so long?" she asked irritably.

"I wasn't gone that long." I said looking at her. She raised an eyebrow at me and scoffed.

"You were gone for nearly two hours. I had to sit here all alone, for two hours." she said. Rolling my eyes and shrugging my shoulders I said as calmly as I could, "He found out what I am."

Tamina's eyes widened as I told her. "It's fine, he says he doesn't care. If he wanted to kill me he would have done it already." I said quickly, before she could start scolding me.

"How did he find out?" she asked, a hint of worry and annoyance in her voice.

"He recognized the markings on my bow that I made when I was practicing archery yesterday morning, and yesterday at dinner, our good friend, Prince Dastan wouldn't stop comparing my looks to yours, so that's how he found out." I explained.

"You should have been more careful." she said. There it was, the scolding.

"Look I'm sorry, I didn't mean for him to find out. I'm just lucky he doesn't care." I replied. My sister just shook her head and stood up.

"I'm going to leave early tomorrow morning, to go to the village." I told her as she started back to the palace. She looked over her shoulder, and nodded giving me the look that told me to be careful, before continuing on.

I held my head in my hands as I started to think through how I was going to leave the next day. I had to think of a way to leave Nasaf without anyone's notice. It was only about a day's journey to my village, so I thought that if I left before the sun rises, I may be able to escape unnoticed, and get there before sun down.

Standing up, I began to walk around and explore the gardens. There wasn't much, just desert flowers and small hedges. The only other thing was a fountain, made of gold.

I walked up to it, and studied it, realizing that it was a carving of King Sharaman, his deceased first wife, and his two sons as no more than infants. Garsiv's mother looked very beautiful, even carved out of metal. I walked away from the fountain, smiling at the carved image of the royal family, as a...family.

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**A/N: Hey guys, I really can't stress this enough, please review. I only have one so far, and I see that there are people viewing this story, but I don't know what any of you think of it. Please review, I really need to know what you guys think of it.**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. **

**And I realize that I sort of made Garsiv a little bit OC, but I didn't want him to be just a warrior, I wanted to show him as a caring sort of man. **


	8. The Journey

**Chapter Seven**

The rest of that day I spent in my chambers, reading, not bothering to pack anything because I could easily create what neccessities I need when I needed them. I knew that I had to leave swiftly the next morning, since I'm not permitted to leave the palace, so I decided to get some rest. I didn't go down to dinner, instead I made my own meal in my room and ate by myself.

I ended up having a comfortable, dreamless sleep, while managing to wake up before the sun had risen. After I had gotten out of bed and changed into my favourite riding clothes, I headed straight down to the stables. I paced up and down the hay covered floor, looking at all of the different horses, deciding which one was strong enough to handle a full day journey.

At the end of the stables I found a beautiful, black stallion, similar to Aksh, Prince Garsiv's horse, but his horse was in a more private stable. I quickly looked around for some blankets, and a sadle. I found what I was looking for inside of the stable, and secured the sadle and reins onto the horse before leading it outside.

I silently left the stables, pulling the horse by it's reins behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?" Startled I spun around and came face to face with a slightly angry looking Prince.

"I'm going for a ride." I said, although I knew Garsiv could see right through me.

"Yes, but where?" he asked again walking up to my horse. "And please don't lie to me." he said looking into my eyes.

"I'm going to my village. To see if I can find my family again." I said grabbing a hold on the reins.

Garsiv backed up a few feet as I pulled myself up onto the horse.

"How far away is it?" he asked walking back up to the side of the stallion.

Looking down at him, I answered, "A full day's ride. Why?" Without answering he turned around and walked into the stables. I leaned back in the saddle as I stared after him.

He returned a few minutes later with his horse Aksh, walking behind him.

Giving him a confused look I asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going with you." he said mounting his horse. "Wait, why?" I asked.

"Because I'd like to know more about you, and because you technically can't leave, at least not without someone going with you." he said smiling.

"Now, lead the way." Smiling and shaking my head, I gave my horse's sides a tight squeeze and off I went, with Prince Garsiv riding behind me.

We rode hard for the rest of the day, not stopping except for water, so by the end of the day, we set up camp about an hour away from the village.

We set up two tents, a few feet away from each other, and a fire. Garsiv and I sat on opposite sides of the fire that night, as we ate our small meal of roasted pheasant and wine. Throughout the whole of dinner, we sat quietly, not saying much to each other.

"Are you finished with that?" I asked glancing over at his plate.

The fire had died down a lot now, leaving mostly glowing coals left over. Looking up at me, he nodded and stood up with the plate in his hand. As he handed me the plate, he took a seat in the sand next to me.

When I had finished cleaning up our dishes, in other words turning it into sand, we ended up sitting next to each other, staring into the fire.

"How long has it been since you've seen your family?" Garsiv asked suddenly from beside me. Looking up at him as he stared intently at me, waiting for me to answer.

"It's been 7 years. Tamina's family found me when I was just nine years old, and since then I've been living with her. After her parents died, I became her guardian, not only to protect her, but as payment for taking me in when I was all alone." I replied quietly.

"What happened? To you I mean?" he asked.

"They...well they..." I stuttered, unsure what to say, or whether I even wanted to tell him.

"You can trust me, Ariana." he said softly, gently squeezing my arm.

I shivered slightly when he touched me, even through the material of my sleeve.

"They invaded my village, searching...for me. Just me. The King knew I was there, he sent the entire Persian Army to hunt me down and kill me." I began, talking slowly and a little quietly.

"My mother and father left me in the house to go and fight, but the soldiers found me eventually, and they would have killed me, if it wasn't for one soldier who seemed sympathetic."

"What did they do?" he asked shifting his position so he was facing me now.

"They took me to see a man called Amir, and he marked me." I said looking into his face.

"Marked you?"

"He burned my skin and filled the wounds with some sort of black ink that never disappears." I explained.

Garsiv, not so discreetly, began to scan his eyes over me.

"I created this bracelet," I lifted my arm to show him the silver, marked bracelet that hid the markings. "To hide the marks." I said finishing my sentence.

"Why did they mark you?" he asked. There was curiousity in his voice along with a hint of worry, which confused me.

"They said it was so that if anyone saw me they would know what I am and kill me. Little did they know that I could hide the markings and live to see sixteen." I said laughing lightly.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" I asked tilting my head to the side slightly.

"For what you've been through."

"Thank you, Garsiv. That means a lot, even if it was your's and your father's army that tried to kill me." I said smiling. Letting out an awkward sort of chuckle, Garisv then stood up.

"I think I'll retire for the night. I'll be sure to be up by dawn, so we can get an early start."

"Alright, good night then." I said. Giving me a small smile before turning around, he walked over to his tent and walked inside, leaving me alone outside.

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. **

**And I realize that I sort of made Garsiv a little bit OC, but I didn't want him to be just a warrior, I wanted to show him as a caring sort of man. **


	9. Home and Feelings Revealed

**Chapter Eight**

The next morning, I awoke to the smell of something burning. quickly removing the furs and blankets that covered me, I stepped outside to find Garsiv attempting to cook some sort of bird. He seemed to be having some difficulty with it, seeing as most of the bird was now black.

"Having trouble?" I asked walking over to him.

"A little." he admitted moving over a little bit so I could kneel beside him. I removed the bird from the fire, and placed onto the plate he had out.

"First time having to cook for yourself?" I asked as I began to cut off the burnt bits.

When he didn't reply I just rolled my eyes, and handed him some of the non-burnt pieces, before digging into my own.

When we had finished eating, we packed up our tents and set out towards my village. Excitment began to build up inside of me once I knew we were close, barely five minutes away now. I was anxious to see my family, to see my parents, that is if they'd even remember me.

After a while we came to the familiar border that surrounded my village. It was however in terrible condition. A majority of it was burnt down and what was left standing had begun to rot and deteriorate. This made me curious. Why would they allow the wall to fall, in it's state it wouldn't hold anyone out.

"Come on." I said leading him past the border.

The things I saw next, caught me off guard, and even made me feel dizzy. I brought my horse to a stop, and unmounted it.

As soon as my feet touched the ground I swayed slightly, before falling to my knees. Everything I could see from where I was, all the way down to the other side of border, was burnt down.

Not a single building was left standing. Everything I had known as a child was gone.

"No." I whispered as tears began to fall down my face. "No, it can't be gone." I said getting up.

"Princess?" asked Garsiv as he walked up beside me.

"It's gone. All of it." I said quietly.

I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, and I didn't resist, I just cried, letting it all out, not caring about what Garsiv thought about me at the moment.

I felt an odd comfort with Garsiv holding me to him, not just because I liked him, but because no one had held me like this before.

My mother and father used to hug me all the time, but that was years ago, and now there was no one left to truly love me. I knew that Tamina loved me, but she wasn't my true family, no matter how much I considered her my sister.

"I'm sorry. I truly am." he whispered in my ear.

"It's not your fault." I said.

"No, it is."

"What?" I asked looking up at him.

"About a year ago, my father ordered me to lead the army back to a village that supposedly held the most powerful mutant ever born. He told me to come here and burn down everything, to kill everyone. 'Destroy everything' he told me."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I pushed myself away from him and glared at him as more tears started to flow.

"If I had known you then, I wouldn't have gone, but I was-"

"Under orders?" I said coldly, finishing his sentence.

"Yes. Ariana, believe me, I regret it, and I have regretted it since the day I caused all of this." he said.

I shook my head, and backed away. Turning to my horse, I quickly mounted it, not wanting to listen to him anymore.

"Where are you going?" he asked as I urged my horse forward into a canter.

"Away from here." I said as I rode away.

The sound of hooves coming from behind me only moments later told me that the Prince had caught up.

"Ariana! Stop!" Ignoring his calls, I rode on.

I continued to ride in the direction of the palace for the rest of the day, I even planned on riding through the night, but the horse needed food and rest more than I did. So, I rode on until the sun had begun to set.

Garsiv was still following me, so when I had unmounted my horse and set up a camp, he walked over to me and sat on the opposite side of the fire that I had made, watching me, watch him.

"Ariana, I am so sorry." he said after a few hours of continuous silence. Without looking at him, I stood up and entered my tent, not wanting to be around him at the moment.

"Princess!" he called as I began to re-arrange my bedding so that I could sleep. I heard the flap of my tent open and the sound of footsteps enter.

"Do you know nothing of privacy?" I asked turning on him.

"Ariana, you need to know how sorry I am." he said walking up to me.

"It doesn't matter now." I said turning away from him as I sat down onto the bundle of blankets that formed my bed.

"What do you mean?" he asked walking around and sitting across from me.

"It's in the past now, it's done, there's nothing you can do. Besides, everyone I love, and everyone that loves me, is either dead or in Tamina's case, not my real family." I said looking down at my hands that were now folded in my lap.

"That's not entirely true." he said placing his hand on mine.

Once again, his touch felt rough, but I didn't mind it. I could almost slap myself for still having feelings for him, even after what he had done, but I couldn't stop what I felt.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I looked up into his eyes.

"I'm not exactly experienced in expressing my feelings, in face I used to believe that love was for children. But when I met you everything changed." he said slowly.

My heart started to quicken as I started to realize what he was trying to say.

"Ariana, I think...I think I might love you." he said staring at me so intensely that I felt forced to look away.

I wanted to say something, then, but I didn't know what to say. There were so many things running through my mind.

I opened my mouth slightly, about to say something, but before I could he cupped my face in his hands and leaned in, pressing his lips to mine.

His lips were surprisingly soft and gentle for a warrior such as himself. Slowly, I lifted my arms and wrapped them around his neck, as he kissed me with such passion, I felt like I could fly.

"I love you, Ariana." he said as he slowly pulled away.

"And I love you." I said quietly, smiling to myself.

I knew that to most people, saying that you love someone after only four days of knowing that person, but I knew in my heart, that my feelings for the prince were sincere.

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. **

**And I realize that I sort of made Garsiv a little bit OC, but I didn't want him to be just a warrior, I wanted to show him as a caring sort of man. **


	10. Getting Ready For The Feast

**Hey lovely readers:D Please enjoy this next chapter, and PLEASE REVIEW, EVEN IF YOU JUST BRIEFLY READ LIKE 2 WORDS:)**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"My father arrives tomorrow." Garsiv whispered in the dark. I didn't answer.

"I'd like you to accompany me to the feast." he said taking my hand.

"Ariana?" he asked when I didn't answer.

"What if he realizes who or what I am?" I asked.

"I'll protect you." he said as if stating something very obvious.

"Garsiv-"

"Ariana, you're in my life now, and I care about you, more than I thought I could ever care about someone, I will protect you, no matter the costs." he said looking at me through the semi darkness.

Without saying anything, I lay down and turned on my side, trying to fall asleep.

The next morning I awoke to find Garsiv lying next to me, with an arm thrown across my waist. I gently moved his arm off of me and stood up, straightening out my clothes, before kneeling down and shaking the Prince awake. When he opened his eyes, he slowly sat up, stretched and smiled, something I knew was rare.

"We need to go soon if we want to make it back before your father arrives." I said, standing up again.

We managed to pack everything up in a very short amount of time and we found ourselves riding back towards Nasaf before mid-day.

We only ended up riding for about two hours before the large palace came into view.

Once we arrived at the stables, we unmounted our horses and handed them over to the stableman. Rushing inside, with Garsiv a few steps behind me, I headed in the direction of my room so that I could change into something more traditional to meet the King.

When we reached my door, Garsiv grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a kiss.

"I'll come back to get you." he said as we parted lips.

"Don't be late." I said smiling as he ran off into the direction of his own chambers.

Pushing the doors that led to my room, open, I rushed inside and quickly stripped out of my dirty riding clothes and walked over to my closet. However, before I could even start choosing an outfit, there was a knock at my door.

Closing the closet doors, I walked over to the door and pulled it open to find one of the palace messangers standing in front of me, holding something in his hands.

"My lady," he said bowing his head and holding his arms out.

"It is requested that you wear this." In his arms, was a pile of material. Taking it from him, I gave him my thanks and closed the door as he left.

I brought the pile of to my bed and placed it on top of the sheets and spread it out, looking at it. It was a red silk set of clothing.

The long, knee length gown, was embroidered with tiny gold beads and the sides of the gown were slit up to the waist.

The trousers were made of the same red silk and the ankle cuffs were embroidered with gold thread. Pulling on the clothes I reached across the bed and picked up the golden coloured slippers that had been given to me, and pulled them on as well.

Walking over to the mirror, I observed myself, and once I was satisfied with my appearance I wandered over to the vanity and sat down, picking up a comb and brushing out my hair, before deciding to braid it, which I rarely did. I decided to lace ribbons and tiny flowers into my hair. As I was focusing on finishing my hair, I heard the door creak open.

"Are you ready?" asked Garsiv as he walked up behind me.

I stared at him through his reflectionin the mirror, as he watched me braid my hair.

"Why don't you ever let your hair down?" he asked.

"I don't know..." I said shrugging my shoulders.

As I finished tying off the end of my hair, I stood up, and said, "We should go." Garsiv nodded and together we left my room, heading down to where the feast was held.

As we walked I started to feel extremely nervous. The thought that King Sharaman would recognize me, frightened me so much that I started to shake. Once we reached the dining hall, I realized that there were hundreds of people, the royal court, servants and soldiers, hundreds of soldiers.

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. **

**And I realize that I sort of made Garsiv a little bit OC, but I didn't want him to be just a warrior, I wanted to show him as a caring sort of man. **


	11. Meeting The King and An Old Friend

**I'd like to thank my lovely readers and reviewers:D You make me want to write this story:D**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

"Garsiv, please. Can we just go back?" I asked grabbing his arm.

"It's too late now." he whispered as we walked.

"Why?" I asked looking up at him. Seeing where he was staring at, I realized why it was too late.

"Because my father has already seen us." he said. The King, who was now looking right at us, beckoned us over with his hand.

"Garsiv, my boy. I missed you." Sharaman said as he thumped Garsiv on the back.

As Garsiv and his father spoke, and caught up on important matters, including the invasion made on Alamut, I looked around the room.

Most of the guests were talking amongst themselves or in large groups, the servants stood in a circle around the King, and the soldiers, some stood in a formation, and some were standing around the room, talking.

As I looked around, I noticed one of the soldiers staring intently at me, and it wasn't until I caught his eye, did I realize who he was, the sympathetic soldier who saved me the night they marked me.

I watched as his brown eyes observed me with questioning. When he seemed to realize who I was, a small smile appeared as he looked me right in the eye, and nodded in greeting. Smiling, I nodded back, a show of my thanks, even though I hoped to perhaps speak to him later.

As he turned back to his conversation, I turned back to looking around the room, and waiting for Garsiv to finish his conversation with his father.

"Now, who is this?" Sharaman said suddenly turning to me.

Garsiv looked back at me, and held out his arm, which I took graciously as I walked forward, but did not bow.

"Father, this is the Princess of Alamut's sister, and guardian, Princess Ariana." said Garsiv. The King looked over me, as I stood nervously before him, hoping that he wouldn't realize who I am.

"I did not know the Princess had a sister." he finally said.

"Well, she never did speak of me often." I replied.

"I see." he said as he sat down onto his pile of cushions layed out for him. Garsiv and I stepped back a few feet so we could talk privately.

"I told you he wouldn't notice." he said softly, pulling me in front of him.

"He might not have, but someone else did." I said looking back over to where the soldier was.

Garsiv followed my gaze and said, "Kaveh?"

"Yes. I guess, if that's his name." I said watching as the soldier started to move through the crowd over to one of the commanders.

"He saved my life that night. If it weren't for him standing up for me, I wouldn't be here." I said looking away, down at my feet.

"He always has been a more compassionate soldier, but also one of our best. I suppose I owe him my thanks." he said.

"Why?" I asked looking up.

"For saving you." he said looking at me. Even though he didn't smile, I could see him smiling with his eyes.

"I'm told that another of my sons has joined the rank of great Persian warriors." said the King then, holding his arm out towards where Dastan stood next to his uncle.

Everyone around us cheered, but I noticed that Garsiv did not. Walking forward, tossing an apple in his hand, he walked over to his adopted father and embraced him before sitting next to him.

"We missed you father." said Dastan.

"I was praying for you and your brothers, Dastan. Family. The bond between brothers, that is the sword that defends our empire. And I pray that that sword remain strong." said the King.

I smiled at this, at how the King thought of Dastan as his true family even though he was just a boy from the streets. It reminded me of the bond that Tamina and I have now.

"I was hoping my actions would spare our men, unnecessary losses." Dastan said looking up to his father.

"Come on." whispered Garsiv then, as the servants began to move.

We walked across the room and sat on some of the cushions set up around the room. A servant came around and offered us wine, which I refused, but Garsiv took a goblet for himself.

"A good man would have done what you did, Dastan, acting boldly and courageously to bring a victory and spare lives. But a great man would've stopped the attack from happening at all. A great man would've stopped what he knew to be wrong, no matter who was ordering it." the King said, looking at his son.

"The boy I saw in that square was capable of being more than just good, but of being great."

"Well, in the mean time, I have a gift for you." said Dastan, laughing as he stood.

His father laughed along and stood up with him. Dastan's friend, Bis, came in carrying a silk basket of sorts.

"Some questioned the wisdom of my bringing a boy from the streets into my family. I saw a boy who's blood wasn't noble, but who's character was. A king, in spirit." Sharaman announced pointing at Dastan.

The guests and soldiers cheered for the young prince. "Thank you father, thank you father. May I present, the prayer robe of Alamut's Regent."

King Sharaman removed his outer cloak and a hand servant began to tie the new robe around him. "They stole that." I muttered to myself.

A small round of applause came from the onlookers.

"What can I grant you, in return?"

"Roham!" called Dastan. It was then that Tamina entered, followed by a handful of guards.

I gaped at her, jealous of how she looked in her cream robes and veil embroidered with gold thread and beads and jewels.

"May I present, Princess Tamina. Tus wishes to make a union with her people through marriage, it is my deepest wish that this win your approval." said Dastan walking back over to his father.

"In all my travels, I have never looked upon a more beautiful city, Your Highness." said the King politely.

"You should have seen it before your _horde_ of camel-riding, illiterates descended upon it." she countered.

Letting out a low chuckle, I could feel Garsiv's intense stare on me once more, but I didn't look over at him.

"Clearly she will make a fine queen." he said not breaking eye contact with my sister. "But, Tus already has enough wives..."

"Isn't that the truth?" said Garsiv quietly, laughing softly. "You Dastan, might take fewer chances if such a jewel waited in your chambers. The Princess of Alamut will be your first wife."

The look that came across Dastan'a face was unforgettable. Tamina looked around, and caught my eye, a little bit of worry in her face. As she looked back around, she kept her face calm and collected.

"What say you Dastan?" The King asked turning to his youngest son.

Dastan merely gaped at his father, seeming to be lost for words.

"He plunges into a thousand foes without thought, but before marriage he stands frozen with fear. And there are those who say he is not yet wise."

These words called upon the laughter of the guests within the room, but suddenly stopped when a sizzling sound and the scent of burning flesh filled the air.

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. **

**And I realize that I sort of made Garsiv a little bit OC, but I didn't want him to be just a warrior, I wanted to show him as a caring sort of man. **


	12. The Death of the King

**I'd like to thank my lovely readers and reviewers:D You make me want to write this story:D**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven **

Worried screams began to errupt from the women within the room.

Garsiv stood up quickly and pushed aside people who were standing in his way as he shouted, "Stand aside! Out of my way!"

I glanced over at Tamina who caught my eye and gave me a look of confusion before running over to me as soldiers began to attempt to pull the cloak off of the King.

"What's happening?" I asked worriedly.

"I don't know. This has never happened before. Someone poisoned the cloak, I suspect Dastan." she said as she began to take the veil off of her head.

"The robe Dastan gave him!" came Garsiv's voice out of the crowd of screams.

"Somebody help him!" Dastan cried.

"Seize the murderer!" Garsiv ordered.

Dastan began to frantically move away from those who advanced on him, attacking him. Tamina pulled me aside and pulled me down so that I was sitting as she kneeled in front of me.

"I'm going with him." she said.

"Why?" I asked looking behind her at all the chaos.

"I need to stay close to the dagger, you stay here with Garsiv and if he sets out after us, go with him."

"But-" I started, but she cut me off.

"Ariana, please do as I ask. I'll take care of myself. See if you can find a way to contact me, I'm sure you can think of something." she said giving me a reassuring smile before she hugged me, and left.

Just as Dastan and Tamina jumped over the edge of the balcony, I looked over to my left and saw Garsiv kneeling beside his father.

"Go after him!" he ordered after a few minutes.

Glancing up, he locked eyes with me, and gave me a look that told me to stay put. As he and his guards left the room, only his uncle and a few servants remained behind to tend to the dead King.

A triumphant smile appeared on the older man's face as he stared down at his dead brother, a smile that made me think that it wasn't Dastan who murdered the King.

"My Lord? What are we to do now, now that you have succeeded?" asked one of the servants.

"Prepare him for the mourning days, we travel to Avrat." Nizam said as he straightened out of his kneeling position and looked around the room, before his eyes landed upon my hiding place.

His eyes widened and an angry expression came across his face as he began to walk over to where I was sitting. As I struggled to stand, he knelt in front of me, and grabbed my throat, forcing me into a standing position.

"What did you hear?" he asked angrily, pushing me against the wall.

"N-nothing!" I said hardly being able to breath under his grip.

"Liar!" he exclaimed.

"I swear! I-I heard nothing!" I said trying to claw at his hand.

"If you tell a soul about what you have seen or heard, I will be sure to kill you myself." he growled, before releasing me from his grasp, causing me to fall to the ground.

As he and the last few servants left, I slowly stood up and cautiously made my way out of the room towards my bed chambers.

Practically running down the hallways, the people I passed gave me strange looks, but I ignored them. When I reached my chambers, I pushed the doors open, then slammed them shut.

Exhaustion had begun to take over me as I sat on the edge of my bed, trying hard to figure out the evening's events. It was clear that Dastan had _not_ poisoned the robe and tried to kill his father, it was his uncle, Nizam.

However, the same questions kept running through my mind, 'Why would Nizam want to kill his brother?' and 'What does he gain from it?'

The most obvious answer would be for him to become King, but with Sharaman dead, then Tus is next in line. If Tus died, then Garsiv would become the next King. Nizam would have to commit more murders just to sit on the throne.

The next, most probable answer was that he was after the Dagger, and the Sands of Time. How he knew, was beyond me for the time being.

Shaking my head, I stood up and walked over to my closet and changed out of my red clothing and into my black silk night robe.

Tying up the small sash that held the robe closed, I pulled of the slippers I wore earlier that day, and just stood in my bare feet, staring out the window from across the room.

The sun had already begun to set, and the light that flooded into the room cast long, dark shadows across the floor.

As I stared abentmindedly out the window, I almost didn't hear the knocking that came at the door.

"What is it with these people?" I muttered to myself as I walked over to the door, and pulled it open.

Not much to my surprise, stood one of the palace guards. Giving me a low bow, he said,

"Prince Garsiv wishes to see you in his chambers, immediatly." Then he turned and left without another word.

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW:D**

**And I realize that I sort of made Garsiv a little bit OC, but I didn't want him to be just a warrior, I wanted to show him as a caring sort of man. **


	13. A Night With the Prince

**I'd like to thank my lovely readers and reviewers:D You make me want to write this story:D**

**And for those of you who may have been wondering, yes the idea of Ariana being a Mutant came from X-Men. But this is not a crossover, nor will it ever be. I'm just using the reference of Mutants in this story. **

**This next scene is not super graphic like my other stories, but there is suggested content.**

**ENJOY!:D**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Garsiv. I had almost forgotten about him with all that had happened, but deciding not to keep him waiting, I left my room, closing the doors behind me. As I walked down the hallways, my feet barely made any sound on the stone floors.

Taking the familiar route to the Prince's bed chamber, I made it there in a matter of minutes.

Raising my hand, I knocked gently on the door.

"Come." came the voice of Garsiv.

As I entered, I peered around the edge of the door, and saw that Garsiv was not alone. He was with his right hand man, and personal lieutenant. Closing the door quietly behind me, I walked a few steps forward, causing the lieutenant to look up, and Garsiv followed.

"Leave us." he ordered his man.

With a quick bow to both of us, he left the room.

Without looking at me, Garsiv walked over to the fireplace and picked up a goblet was placed on the mantlepiece and brought it to his lips as he stared into the fire. Taking a deep breath, I walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Garsiv?" I whispered.

"We leave tomorrow, to begin the hunt for the murderer." he said, anger and sadness clear in his voice.

"Garsiv-"

"My own brother! How can I possibly forgive him!" he growled forcefully slamming the goblet back onto the mantle.

"I know something about not being able to forgive, or forget for that matter." I said softly, not really meaning for him to hear me.

"I told you I was sorry." he said turning to face me.

"And you think that's reason enough for me to forgive you? I love you Garsiv, but you destroyed my home, and the people I love twice. That is not something easily forgiven." I said.

"Ariana-"

"I want to go with you." I said, trying to change the subject.

Though it was true, I couldn't easily forgive Garsiv for what he did to my family, this wasn't about me, it was not the time to talk about my problems.

Garsiv looked at me with utmost confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I want to go with you tomorrow, in search for your brother." I replied looking up at him now.

"No. Absolutely not." he said firmly.

"Garsiv, please-"

"No, I won't let you, I won't risk losing you too." he said as he grabbed my hands, pulling me close to him.

Without his metal armour on, I could feel the muscles on his arms and chest tighten as he pulled me into an embrace. "I know that you can fight, but I've already lost my father, I won't lose you too."

Sighing, I slowly pushed myself away from him so that I could see him.

"Why have you summoned me here?" I asked.

"To say good-bye." Leaning in close, he kissed me, slowly at first, but then it became stronger, more passionate.

I knew what he wanted at that moment, and I would have been a fool to say I didn't want it too.

"I want to see you." he said as he pulled away.

"What?" I asked, confused.

Taking my hand, he pulled me behind him, and placed me in front of a mirror that I hadn't noticed before.

"I want to see the real you." he said, standing behind me, slowly beginning to untie the sash holding my robe together. As the robe fell away, off of my shoulders, falling to the gorund in a heap, we both stared at my body in the mirror.

For a girl of only sixteen I found myself to be rather thin, but slightly muscular from years of training and fighting, but the muscles couldn't hide the slight curves of my body. I was curvy where a young woman should be, but the most obvious places were my hips and my breasts.

At the back of my head I felt a tug. I didn't turn around, but I could see that Garisv was running his fingers through my hair, untying my braid, allowing it to fall loosely down my back and around my shoulders.

"I don't understand why you tie your hair. It's beautiful." he whispered.

I smiled at him through the reflection in the mirror and watched as he slid his hand down my right arm towards the bracelet that concealed the markings on my body.

To my own surprise I didn't resist as he slowly slid the silver bracelet off of my wrist and tossed it aside. Slowly the black ink markings began to appear.

"They did this to you?" he whispered staring at me in the mirror. Nodding my head slowly, I could feel the tears coming to my eyes.

"They should be burned for doing this to you."

"No. It's in the past, besides it could be worse." I said holding my hands out in front of me.

"And what's that?" he asked reaching around me and taking my hands in his.

"I could be dead." I stated as Garsiv began to place light kisses down my neck, across my shoulders.

"I thank the Gods every day that you are not." he said softly, before turning me around to face him, and kissing me once more.

A strange feeling came over me as the kiss became desirous, and as he lifted me into his arms and carried me over to his bed, I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing him closer to me.

XXXX

"I love you." I whispered.

Garsiv smiled and pulled me closer to him as we lay tangled in the sheets, facing each other.

"I love you too." he said lightly kissing my lips.

"I still want to go with you tomorrow." I said.

"And I'm still not going to let you." he replied looking right into my eyes.

"We'll see." I said laughing lightly, before tucking my head under his chin and trying to fall asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW:D**

**And I realize that I sort of made Garsiv a little bit OC, but I didn't want him to be just a warrior, I wanted to show him as a caring sort of man. **


	14. A Two Day Journey

**I'd like to thank my lovely readers and reviewers:D You make me want to write this story:D**

**ENJOY!:D**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

When I woke the next morning, it was still dark out, but Garsiv was nowhere to be seen. I wondered if he had left already though I doubted he would leave before dawn. Pushing the sheets back, I climbed out of the bed and pulled my robe back on before quickly running out of the room and towards my own.

I assumed that he could be at the stables preparing early for the ride ahead, so once I changed into my riding clothes, I headed straight there.

As I entered the stables it took me a while to adjust to the dark before I saw the vague silouhette of a person near one of the horses.

"Garsiv?" I asked quietly into the darkness.

The silouhette turned and I saw it bow slightly before a familiar voice said, "My Lady."

"Kaveh?" I asked.

Kaveh didn't answer but I heard the hay beneath his feet move as he walked over to the side of the stables and lit a candle. With the light now showing part of his face, I noticed a long scar that reached across the left side of his face.

"What happened?" I asked walking up to him.

"That night, after they marked you and we left, my Commander was ordered to punish me for standing up for you." he said looking into my eyes.

Reaching my arm out, I carefully touched the scar and traced it along his face.

"I'm sorry." I said as a twinge of guil over came me.

"It's alright. It's not so bad. It reminds of the good deed I did." he said smiling.

Smiling back, I walked right up to him and wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you, a thousand times over for what you did for me." I said.

I felt Kaveh wrap his arms around me, as he said, "I've never regretted saving you."

"Ariana?"

Spinning around, I saw Garsiv standing just inside the door frame, hand on his sword and a slightly shocked and angry expression on his face.

"Garsiv." I said smiling as I walked up to him.

"Everything is ready sir." said Kaveh, bowing slightly.

"Good. Then order the rest of the guard to mount up, we leave in less than an hour." Garsiv ordered.

As Kaveh left the stables, he briefly smiled at me on his way out.

"I told you, you're not coming." said Garsiv placing his hand on the small of my back, pulling me close to him.

"I let you come along on the journey to see my village again, then I found out you destroyed everything and everyone that actually meant something to me. I think it's fair that you let me go with you." I said firmly, while walking back a few steps to look at him.

Garsiv looked around for a moment before sighing deeply.

"Very well. But you're going to be a distraction." he said chuckling.

"Let them be jealous." I said smiling in return.

"Come on. You'll ride next to me." he said as we left the stables and walked over to our horses.

"We ride towards Avrat to meet with my uncle, but on the way we search for my brother." he said as a guard brought over another horse for me.

When the guard had brought the beautiful dark brown, horse over to me, I mounted it, sitting with one leg on each side. As Garsiv mounted his own horse, the rest of his troops followed suit. "Onward!" Garsiv ordered. Squeezing the sides of my horse, we rode off.

We rode on for two days, riding through nearby villages checking every inch for signs of Dastan, we were very unsuccessful.

Even though I knew it wasn't Dastan who killed the King, I didn't have the heart to tell Garsiv. I didn't want to tell him that it was his own blood that killed his father, I knew it would have hurt him too much.

So we rode on towards Avrat for his father's funeral, whilst searching for his brother.

By the second night, the night before we were to enter the city, we set up camp, a circle of tents surrounding a large fire. After I finished eating, a little before the rest of the men, I decided to get myself ready for the next day.

Walking into the tent, I set up my robes for tomorrow. They weren't anything special, just a simple set of black trousers, and a knee length gown that like my red one, was slit on both sides, allowing room for movement.

Once I had this set out, I sat down on the pile of cushions and blankets that created my bed, and settled in. I had barely been able to close my eyes, when I heard the soft footsteps of someone entering my tent.

Sitting up, I saw Garsiv walking towards me, still in his armour.

"I just wanted to say good-night." he said kneeling down in front of me as I crossed my legs.

"Are you okay?" I asked noticing how down he seemed when he spoke.

Shaking his head slightly, he said, "I haven't felt like this since my mother died. But then, I could never talk about how I felt. Father never liked to speak about her, Dastan wasn't even with us then, and Tus shut himself out from the world for the longest time."

"Well you can always talk to me." I said, taking his hands and intertwining my fingers with his.

"I know, but it's not exactly easy for me to just open up. Especially as the leader of an army and since I've never spoken about I feel to anyone." he explained.

"I understand, but know that I am willing to listen." I said smiling.

"Thank you." he said. Kissing me quickly, he stood up and left the tent to his own.

That night, I remember falling asleep smiling.

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW:D**

**And I realize that I sort of made Garsiv a little bit OC, but I didn't want him to be just a warrior, I wanted to show him as a caring sort of man. **


	15. I Will Always Remember You

**I'd like to thank my lovely readers and reviewers:D You make me want to write this story:D**

**ENJOY!:D**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

The next day we woke early to get a head start to Avrat where we were to meet Nizam, much to my own dislike. I rode beside the young Prince as we rode, and not just because he asked me to. I liked to keep an eye out for him, in case he was in need of comfort, though I doubted that he would ever break down in front of his men.

So, once we had arrived outside of the walls leading into the great city, Garsiv's uncle rode up to us and joined our long line of marchers. When I looked around, it took me a few minutes to take in the immense amount of people that had come down all this way for their King's funeral.

We rode on past the border and into the great city of Avrat. Looking around, I realized that a lot of the place was decorated with the colours of mourning, a tribute to the fallen king.

Around mid-day or so, Nizam had claimed that he had to meet someone and Garsiv left with his troops to search around the city for Dastan, though both Kaveh and I agreed that it was unlikely that he would be here, but Garsiv insisted that they should check, just in case. This gave me the opportunity to walk around and explore the city on my own.

Seeing as the city itself was quite large, too large to explore in one day, I kept to the central part of the city. I walked around, looking at all the different stalls and asked vendors about their products. Occasionally I would stop to purchase some of the exotic fruits that were available.

Giving one quick "thank you" to a vendor, I took off down the street, but only to be stopped when a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled over to the side.

I dropped my fruit and reached for my dagger, but when I turned I saw, not a thief or bandit, but my sister.

"Tamina!" I said happily, wrapping my arms around her.

"Shh. I don't want them to know I'm here." she whispered.

"Of course, I'm sorry." I said, as I backed up a few feet. "Where's Dastan?" I asked noticing that the youngest prince was not with her.

"Walk with me." she said, hooking her arm through mine.

"So are you going to tell me? Or leave me with no response?" I asked teasingly.

"Dastan went off to find his uncle, to try and explain the great powers of the dagger, which he surprisingly managed to figure out on his own." she started.

"But I think he'll find himself lost for words when he shows up with no evidence." she said smirking.

"What are you talking about?" I asked turning my head to look at her.

"I stole it from him, he didn't even notice, so now I have to leave the city and return to the Sanctuary." she said.

"Tamina, if you return the dagger, I'll never see you again." I said stopping her in her tracks.

Looking into my sister's eyes, I saw the same sadness in them that I felt inside.

"It's the only way." she said looking away from me.

"I know...what happens if Dastan finds you?" I asked as the sudden thought crossed my mind.

"Then I'll have to tell him everything, and if I'm lucky he'll travel with me. What is it?" she asked as I looked away from her, across the street at nothing in particular.

"Nothing...I'm just thinking of the worst, as usual." I said.

"You're worried that if by some chance we lose the dagger to our enemies that they will release the sands and turn back time, and that you'll never see or even remember that Prince. Am I right?" she asked grabbing my hand.

Nodding slightly, I felt tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes.

"Ariana, for one thing, it is most unlikely that something like that will happen, I am going to ride out immediatly to the Sanctuary and return the dagger. But if you are that concerned, then create something that you can give him that will make him remember everything, even if the sands are released. I don't want to see you unhappy again, go to him tonight." she said placing her hand on my cheek and forcing me to look at her.

"Alright?" she said.

As I nodded in response she pulled me into a hug, and sighed.

"I wish none of this had happened." I whispered.

"I know, I know." she said stroking my hair.

"Go, before Dastan realizes you're gone." I said pulling away from her. Nodding and smiling, she turned and walked away.

As I watched her leave, the tears started to fall again.

"My lady!" a voice called. In the distance, I could see the familiar colours of the Persian guard, running towards me.

"What is it?"

"It's the Prince, he's asking for you. Follow me." he said turning around again.

The guard led me through the small town for almost half a bell, before coming to some sort of stone paved yard. Across from where we were standing was Garsiv, his front hand man, and his Uncle Nizam.

The guard walked right up to them and I followed, but as soon as I walked over, I earned myself a dark look from Nizam.

"Your Highness?" I said, bowing slightly to Garsiv, knowing better than to call him by his name in front of his lieutenant and his uncle, who would surely scold me for it.

"Princess. The murderer got away, we have a few leads on where he is headed. We leave at dawn." Garsiv said turning to me.

It wasn't until then did I notice that it was getting darker out, the sun slowly setting in the west.

"Of course." I said bowing my head as he and his uncle walked past me, and led the way back to the camp.

I walked silently behind them as we headed back to the tents. Once we had arrived, I noticed that there was another tent set up, another much bigger and more elegant tent surrounded by guards.

"What is Tus doing here?" Garsiv asked his uncle.

"I do not know." Nizam replied walking a little faster ahead.

The two of them continued forward towards the tent, and disappeared inside. Feeling slightly uncomfortable standing alone outside while a group of men stared at me, I wandered over to my tent and slipped inside.

I thought about what Tamina had suggested about making something that I could make to make Garsiv remember me in case someone did happen to release the sands.

She was certainly right, I didn't want to go back to being what I was, sheltered, always afraid of someone discovering my secret. Whereas Garsiv knew what I was, and didn't care, he still loved me, I didn't want to throw all of that away.

Sitting down, I crossed my legs and closed my eyes, trying to focus on exactly what I wanted to make. For most things, things that I made and used often, it was easy to just think up and the object would appear, but for something that I had not made before, I find I had to sit and focus on it for a while to make it exactly the way I wanted it.

So as I sat with my eyes closed I began to picture and say in my mind what I wanted to create.

Finally after a long while of just sitting and thinking, I opened my eyes, and in my hand was a small phial of a semi-transparent liquid. I held the phial up to the candle light, observing it, just as a voice spoke from behind me.

"Princess. Prince Garsiv wishes to see you." said Kaveh. Standing up, I carefully tucked the phial up my sleeve, securing it so that it wouldn't slip out.

I followed Kaveh out of the tent towards where Garsiv's was. As we walked I noticed that a few of the soldiers were sitting around the fire, drinks in their hands and lustful looks in their eyes as I walked by. The looks in their eyes scared me most of all.

"Here we are." said Kaveh as we stopped outside of one of the bigger tents.

"Thank you, Kaveh." I said before I ducked through the flaps into the tent.

I found Garsiv kneeling, and leaning over some sheets of parchment that were spread out all over the floor around him.

"My Lord?" I said taking a few steps forward. Garsiv looked up and raised an eyebrow at me.

"I thought I told you to call me by my name, Princess?" he asked leaning back slightly, staring at me.

"My apologies, it's just that, your men are just outside."

"So? It's not like they haven't heard my name before." he said a small smile appearing on his lips.

"I know, I just..." I said, looking down at my feet. I heard the sound of shuffling paper, before I felt a hand carefully grip my chin and lift my head up.

"Do you really fear what everyone else would think if they knew about us?" he asked staring into my eyes.

"No." my answer coming out as nothing more than a whisper.

"You're lying, Princess." he said, dropping his voice down to a whisper as well.

"Yes." I replied, smiling.

"Of course you were. Come." he said taking my hand and bringing me over to where he slept.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked, gesturing to the pitcher of water that sat on a small flat surface.

"Please." I replied sitting down.

Picking up the pitcher and two goblets Garsiv walked over and sat down in front of me. Handing me a cup, he slowly poured the clear liquid inside of it, before pouring some for himself.

It was then that I remembered the phial I had hidden up my sleeve. I had wanted to pour it in secretly, but I thought it better to tell him first.

Placing my goblet down beside me, I reached my hand up my sleeve and pulled the clear glass out.

"What is that?" the Prince asked curiously as I pulled the lid off.

"It's..." I paused, trying to figure out how to explain it. He would never understand what it was for since he knew nothing about the Sands.

"It's something that will help you remember." I said telling him the partial truth.

"Remember what?" he asked.

"Me...incase something in the near future should happen." I said pouring half of the contents into my goblet, before reaching over to pour some into his.

I was surprised when he didn't stop me from pouring the last of the liquid into his goblet. Without saying anything to each other, we both drank the water, I took small sips eventually finishing it, but Garsiv downed it in one.

"What makes you think I would ever forget you?" he asked as he tossed the goblet aside and moved closer to me, our faces now mere inches apart.

"I don't know." I said as he took the goblet from my hand and threw it aside as well.

"I will always remember you, Ariana. Until the ends of time and as long as you are with me forever." he said grabbing my waist and pulling me up to him. I placed my hands on the base of his neck, as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine.

With a slight push, I fell on my back with Garsiv on top of me, our lips still locked. I wrapped my legs around his waist, bringing him closer to me. We didn't need words to say what we wanted, we just knew that it was right.

xxx

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**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW:D**

**And I realize that I sort of made Garsiv a little bit OC, but I didn't want him to be just a warrior, I wanted to show him as a caring sort of man. **


	16. Never Forget Who You Are

**I'd like to thank my lovely readers and reviewers:D You make me want to write this story:D**

**ENJOY!:D**

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**Chapter Fifteen**

By dawn the next morning we were off, heading East, in the exact direction of the Sactuary. Unfortunately around mid-day we had to stop due to a sand storm, but after the storm had passed we set out once more, riding hard to get to our destination as quickly as possible.

Along the way we ran through a village, a village full of people that had been slaughtered. Garsiv had thought it was Dastan, but I knew better.

As we rode on farther East, I could see the familiar stones that made up the Sanctuary. Tamina had shown me this sacred place years ago, explaining that every Princess of Alamut is supposed to know the way there by heart.

Garsiv ordered his soldiers to surround the area, as we dismounted our horses and began to walk up closer. I walked behind Garsiv, alonside his right hand man, and only a few feet away were Dastan and Tamina.

As we walked down the small mountain of small stones, Dastan turned and stared at us, then looked around realizing he was surrounded.

"Stay there! Stay there!" Garsiv shouted, pointing at Dastan, who was slowly backing away. "Stay there!"

"Listen to me. Listen to me!" Dastan said holding his hands up.

"Give me your sword!" Garsiv ordered as we jumped down to ground level.

"Garsiv." I warned as he walked up to Dastan, drawing his own sword now.

"Give me your sword, or do you foresake even that honour?" he questioned, ignoring me.

"There are bodies down there, murdered by Hassansins. On Nizams order! He's the traitor!" Dastan said trying to explain.

I knew what he was talking about, and I knew that what he said was true, but Garsiv qould never believe him.

"Hassansins no longer exist! You always thought you were so clever!" Garsiv said, taking Dastan's sword from him.

"No this is no trick, Garsiv." Dastan said.

"Sir!" the Lieutenant called walking up to us. "All dead inside, sir. More in the village." he explained.

Garsiv glanced over at his brother then followed his lieutenant into the cave like area. I made way to follow him, but he turned briefly, catching my arm.

"Stay here." he ordered in a firm voice. Nodding, I allowed him and Dastan to enter alone.

I stood around the entrance of the cave for a while, while they talked.

"Ariana! Get down!" called Tamina.

Before I had the chance to ask why, small metal arrows appeared out of nowhere. I ran to my left, just barely missing an arrow.

The shooters were nowhere to be seen, but the arrows kept coming, and people kept dropping to the ground. As I looked around me, I realized that I had to warn Garsiv.

Turning around, I was about to walk over to the cave again, when I saw Dastan kneeling down next to someone. However, it wasn't just any someone. It was Garsiv.

"No." I whispered.

Running over a few dead bodies, and as Dastan stood up and ran from the incoming arrows, I knelt down beside Garsiv. There were at least half a dozen metal arrows sticking out from his chest, and blood was slowly dripping out of his mouth.

"Garsiv..." I whispered, taking his hand.

His hands were still slightly warm, indicating that he was still alive, but only just. Tears started to fall down my cheeks, as I stared at him.

"Ariana..." he breathed.

"I'm here. I'm here." I said.

"You need to get out of here."

"I won't leave you." I said firmly, even though my voice shook as I cried.

"Ariana, please. Go. " he said tightening his grip on my hand slightly.

"Where?" "Anywhere. Away from here, find a place where they will accept you. Just promise me that you won't forget who you are." he said, his breathing becoming more ragged.

"Garsiv, please. Let me heal you." I said the tears falling even more now.

"No, I am not afraid of death." he whispered, giving me a half smile.

"But I am. I am afraid of never seeing you again." I said, voice still shaking.

"I know, but never forget that I love you." he whispered.

"Now go, before you get yourself killed." he said, closing his eyes, and trying to take a deep breath, but only managed to choke on his own blood.

"I love you." I whispered, kissing his hand, as I stood up.

Reluctantly, I walked away from him, tears still falling down my face. I walked right into the middle of the battle, defenseless, and not even willing to make my own sword. I felt like my soul had been taken away from me.

I paid no attention to my surroundings, everything was a blur, and so was the Hassansin that was walking towards me, sword raised-but I didn't even see what happened next. I felt the sand on my skin as I fell.

There was an aching pain in my head, and a warm trickle of blood that fell from my lips. I wasn't afraid to die then, I wanted to die, so I could be with Garsiv in heaven. Taking one last, shuddering breath, the world around me blacked out, and I was no more.

xxx

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**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW:D**

**Yes, I killed my main character, but for those of you who have seen the movie, knows what happens next:P Don't give me hate for killing Ariana, ok?:) **


	17. Epilogue: Dream or Reality?

**Whoa, so this is the last chapter...I want to thank all my readers and reviewers, without whom, this story would not be here:)**

**ENJOY!:D**

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**Epilogue**

I awoke in the middle of the day, with a start. I found myself lying on my bed, breathing rapidly at the dream I had just had. Sitting up, I jumped off from my bed, and walked over to my mirror, and stared at myself.

My hair was a mess, and I my clothes were sticking to my shaking and sweaty body. Changing quickly out of my old clothes and into fresh new ones, I sat by my vanity and brushed out my hair.

There was something strange about my dream, it felt so real...maybe it wasn't a dream after all.

As I pulled my long, dark hair over my shoulder, there was a knock at the door. Hang on...that knock. That same knock happened at the very beginning of my dream. 'Oh no.' I thought. If that knock is the same one in my dream, that means that Alamut is under attack.

Quickly standing up, I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Princess," the guard said bowing his head.

"Tamina wants to see me, doesn't she?" I asked suddenly, remembering this same moment from the dream.

"Yes, My lady. She waits for you in the Throne Room." he said.

'Wait...I don't remember this.' I said in my head.

"Oh my God." I said aloud.

"Princess?" the guard questioned. A small smile appeared on my face as I reached out and grabbed the guard's shoulders.

"It was real. It was all real!" I said happily.

The guard looked very confused, and almost scared.

"My lady?"

"Don't you see? It was-" but then I remembered, if it was real then, Prince Garsiv was dead, but then I should be dead too.

Someone must have released the Sands, and so if I was alive, then that meant that Garsiv was alive too. 'But would he remember?' Of course he would. I gave him that liquid that would make him remember, and I drank that liquid too.

If I remembered everything, he was bound to remember it all too.

"Take me to her." I said, releasing his shoulders, my smile now wider than ever.

"Yes, Princess." he said.

Leading me from my chambers towards the Throne Room, I couldn't help but smile, but the only thing was, was that I had to act like everything had not happened, at least until I could speak to Garsiv alone.

"Here we are, My lady." said the guard as we stopped outside two large wooden doors. Taking a deep breath, I pushed them open.

The doors squeaked open, and everyone in the room turned to look at me. I could see Tamina sitting on her cushions, that made her "Throne", looking at me. I began to walk forward, towards my sister, and as I walked, the people in the room moved aside for me.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I neared my sister, knowing that Garsiv was standing there, waiting. As I walked past the three Princes, I didn't look over at Garsiv. It wasn't until I was standing next to my sister did I glance down at him, seeing him staring at me with a straight face.

"You may continue." Tamina said.

"Princesses of Alamut, I was misled to attack your city. Forgive me, Your Highnesses. Let me try to make amends." said Tus, stepping up towards us.

"It would be to our mutual advantage, that our nations be united through a bond stronger than friendship." he said now turning to my sister.

"Marriage. Your marriage to one who is both conquerer and saviour of your city." Turning, Tus walked down to the youngest prince, Dastan.

"Dastan. Royal blood or not, he's every bit a son to our father. Every bit a brother to Garsiv and me. A true Prince of Persia."

Dastan looked up at his two brothers who placed their hands on his shoulders in encouragement. Garsiv leaned over to Dastan and whispered something in his ear, something I did not hear.

Together, the three Princes walked up to the edge of the steps, but Dastan continued up and kneeled before Tamina.

"Hello Princess. It is customary to accompany a proposal with gifts, but I was surprised and, alas, I'm unprepared. I have nothing for you, save for that which is already yours." he said, reaching behind him and pulling out the Dagger.

Tamina looked slightly surprised as she took the dagger from him.

"Walk with me, Prince Dastan." said Tamina, standing up.

"Ariana, you may leave if you wish." she said before turning and leaving the room with Dastan close behind her.

I watched them leave, and even when they were gone, I was too shy to look back over at Garsiv, but I was lucky enough to not have to.

"Princess, may I have a word?" Turning my head, I saw Garsiv standing about a foot away from me, his face expressionless.

Nodding my head, I followed him from the the Throne Room. We walked down many halls, until we found an empty room. He allowed me to walk in first, and then closed the door behind us.

"You look exhausted." said Garsiv, as he walked around me.

"I had a very real nightmare." I said keeping my eyes on anything but him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Don't you know?"

"Of course I know, I want to know if you know." he said. Finally looking up, I saw him smiling down at me. "

You remember?" I asked softly.

"Every minute." he said, as he took my hands.

"I thought you had died." I said looking into his deep brown eyes.

"So did I. Until I found myself attacking your city like I had many days ago...I missed you. I thought I would never see you again." he said placing a rough hand on my cheek.

"And I missed you." I said tears forming in the corners of my eyes.

Smiling, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"We can be together now." he said leaning close.

"I wanted to ask you this that night before we...died. Will you be my wife?" he asked.

There was no other answer to his question, I didn't need to think it over.

"Yes." I said, smiling back at him.

"Good." he said, before he leaned in and kissed me full on the lips.

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**A/N: Hello readers! What did you think? :D**

**Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please be honest. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW:D**


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